Remove a character from the text of a field?

[tapededitions]

I need to convert a field with numbers entered with multiple dashes to a number with no dashes. There are thousands of records. Is there a way to script this process? An example is 0-375-41616-1 to 0375416161. Some numbers have dashes in different places. Please help!

Mindy

[Steven H. Blackwell]

use the substitute function, but test it out first so you know how it works. Basically you tell it Substitute(fieldname, searchchar, replacechar) so you would tell it to Substitute(fieldname, "-", ""). This is not the exact syntax, use the Cal function. You may have to run this more than once.

HTH

Old Advance Man

[Rigsby]

There is a quicker and better way to deal with this, because you don’t need a script:

Let’s say the field you want to convert is called NUM1

Create a second field called NUM2

Calculation: Text (make sure NUM1 is also set to text)

Substitute ( NUM1 , “-“ , “ “ )

Ok, now you have a field (NUM2), where (for example) 123-456-789 (in NUM1) is shown as:

123 456 789

Now simply set NUM2 from a calculation to a text field – FMP will give you a warning about losing data, but once you’ve converted, you’ll see that NUM2 has kept the values.

OK! Now simply convert NUM1 to a calculation field

= NUM2

Now you see that both fields are without the “-“

Now simply set NUM1 back to Text instead of a calculation (ignore the warning), and hey presto….. All the “-“ are gone. The beauty of this system is, that although it’s slow, it’s faster than a script, and should anything go wrong during the process, a recovery is much easier. It depends on how many records you have, which method is best. I prefere this, because with each step, you see the results before you have actually changed any stored data!

No disrespect meant “Old A Man” but one-time field conversions are (in my opinion) easier this way, than creating a script…… and faster

[Steven H. Blackwell]

No hint of disrespect found in your post. BTW, I don't believe I suggested doing this in a script.

Old Advance Man

[danjacoby]

One slight adjustment, Rigsby:

Substitute (NUM1,